Thursday, August 7, 2014

Your reporting of “L.A. surgeons implant device to help deaf 3-year-old
hear” and “For a 3-year-old boy, a risky operation may mean a chance to hear”(May
7 2014 & July 22, 2014) consist of a repeatedly one-sided view of surgeries
that have been performed on Deaf and hard of Hearing children as well as
communicating approval of these attempts to eradicate a diversity natural to
the human race.

This particular story illustrated gross negligence on the part of the
medical profession. While you portray the FDA as “risk adverse,” the history of
the FDA with Deaf children has not substantiated this.In the 1980s when early cochlear
implants were being done, 12 Deaf children died. The doctors who performed this
surgery knew at the time they did not have medication to cross the blood-brain
barrier if children experienced infections due to the surgery.Yet, they went ahead.Later, the FDA only placed a brief
moratorium on cochlear implant surgery (see Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto describe
these events http://usdeafhistory.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/final-transcriptforpanelexcerptpetitto1.pdf).Why hasn’t THIS story been
reported in any popular press?And
guess who led that experimental surgery?Yep, Dr. House the same folks “helping” Auguste with the new auditory brainstem
implant surgery.While all are
admitting this brain surgery is “risky,” it communicates that being Deaf is
something one should be willing to risk one’s child’s “perfect health” to
eradicate. In addition, one wonders if the parents were informed of the link
between numerous (more than one) surgeries in early childhood with later
learning problems (see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111003080417.htm)

To further look at how the medical profession has addressed Deaf
children and cochlear implantation, we refer you to the Harms Reduction Journal of April 2012 “Language acquisition for
deaf children: reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative
approaches” which states “..the economic motivations behind the cochlear
implant industry compounded by unrealistic optimism regarding the interface
between technology and the human brain might be promoting earlier and broader
use of cochlear implants in deaf children without adequate long term studies to
support these actions…” and describes how the medical profession misinforms and
coerces counter to the welfare of the child and his/her family (see http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/pdf/1477-7517-9-16.pdf).
This disinformation is not limited to cochlear and brainstem implants but also
includes stem cell experimentation on newborns and infants (see PR web by AFA
objecting to this stem cell experimentation http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9108761.htmwhich
thankfully was stopped by the ethics committee after one year).

How long will the public be exposed to these mythical “miraculous” and
one-sided views of cochlear implants/auditory brainstem surgery? These type of
stories are becoming an incessant bit of medical propaganda where the media is
complicit in promoting medical solutions to being Deaf---as a “cure.” Where are
the cases of disappointed individuals and families that have suffered educationally,
emotionally and economically due to the fact this ‘miracle’ did not happen in
the long run?Where is your
examination of the children who have had complications from this surgery?Have they truly made the lives of these
individuals better???We encourage you to look, not at the experience
of the PARENTS, but at the experience of Deaf adults who have lived through
such “miraculous” surgeries.Where is your examination of the cruelty done on animals in the name of
cochlear implant progress?

We believe
you, as journalists, should offer balanced reporting by showing families who
choose to NOT have surgeries to fix their “perfectly healthy” Deaf child. We request
that you to look at the human rights of a Deaf child and international
documents which support the rights of the child(http://audismfreeamerica.blogspot.com/2011/10/international-documents-asserting.html).The actions by the FDA serve to highlight the
medical community’s systematic effort to threaten the culture, language, and
right to life of Deaf people—and therefore, endangering linguistic and cultural
diversity in the United States.

We appeal to
your journalistic integrity, to provide the public with a more complete and
less prejudicial portrayal of Deaf people.We believe in the power of media---and in the responsibility
of the news-- to promote truth and justice.

Let Freedom
Roll,

Karen
Christie, Patti Durr, and Ruthie Jordan for Audism Free America

Audism is
attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of
those who speak and hear is desired and best. It produces a system of
privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice—in
overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf
people of all walks of life.

We are
writing to you once again to request you undo injustice committed in your state
by granting executive clemency/commutation of sentence for Felix Garcia. Mr. Garcia,
a partially Deaf man, has served 32 years in prison for a crime he did not
commit, a crime his Hearing brother recently confessed to committing. Both his
brother and his sister have provided affidavits concerning his innocence. Additionally, Mr. Garcia never had full
access to information during his arrest, his trial, and imprisonment due to the
failure to provide him with reasonable communication accommodations. Thus, he
was unable to fully assist with his own defense.

Audism Free
America (AFA), as well as others in the Deaf community has a grave concern for
Deaf citizens in Florida, as evidence by the treatment of Felix Garcia.AFA is a national grassroots advocacy
network working to combat audism.Audism
is attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of
those who speak and hear is desired and best. It produces a system of
privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice—in
overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf
people of all walks of life.Felix
Garcia has been a victim of audism in being denied his rights to a fair trial
and wrongful imprisonment.We
believe you have the opportunity now to look again at his application for
clemency and do the right thing—granting him his freedom.With the growing inmate population in
Florida, you cannot afford to keep innocent individuals imprisoned.

Please do
not let Felix Garcia be an example of the failure of the Florida justice system
toward innocent Deaf citizens.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

setting: Ruthie Jordan
standing on the sidewalk in front of the Cochlear America building, she
is
wearing a blue AFA shirt, glasses and a black hat. Back of the blue AFA
shirt has a painting of George W. Veditz signing love/cherish with the
sign for STAND as a frame around George and text at top STAND FOR
JUSTICE. The painting of Veditz and the hand stand is by Nancy Rourke.
T-shirts courtesy of Shawn Elfink)

Today is Memorial Day, the day we honor those who fought and
still fight to ensure our Human Rights.
We remember all who suffered physical, emotional and mental trauma and
others who paid the ultimate price. In
conjunction with honoring our military, AFA has come to stand, honor, and
remember our Deaf children and their parents who have been lied to and taken
advantage of by the medical system and cochlear implant companies. We honor these Deaf children who have been
robbed of their human rights, their identity, language, culture, and
education. We remember those who have
struggled through the frustrations of educational systems that continually
focus on speech and listening while oppressing, denying and isolating them.
The biggest offender in the spider web of systems is the cochlear
implant (CI) industry who continues to profit from Deaf children. Lately, there has been much discussion about
the 12 Deaf children who died from cochlear implant surgeries in the 1980’s. (see interview with Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto,
Cognitive Neuroscientist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gU7a1EH2jo&feature=youtu.be). The facts of these deaths were swept under
the rug and ignored by cochlear implant companies who continued encouraging the
medical community to implant children and the surgeries have become an
epidemic.

On this day, many are communing with family, BBQ’ing,
sharing stories and enjoying each other’s company while their Deaf family members are left out of
conversations, forced to focus on the lips of others and try to follow what is
happening around them. We are asking all members of our Community (Deaf,
hearing, hard-of-hearing, parents, cochlear implant survivors, interpreters…)
to STAND with us and return the rights of identity, language, culture and
education to our Deaf children. Stop
Audism.
AFA wants to emphasize, we in no way blame or demean parents of
Deaf children for choosing a CI for their child, we recognize the enormity of
the medical system and that it is saturated with audism. We hold the cochlear implant companies
(Advanced Bionics, Cochlear America, and Med-El) accountable for the damage
they cause by incentivizing their products and disseminating false, prejudicial,
and disparaging information. Together,
let us reclaim our roots by working to return ASL, culture, identity and education to our Deaf
children, they are our future. LET
FREEDOM ROLL!

(description: camera is panning around the Cochlear America
building showing how large it is)
Cochlear America is just one of the companies earning millions
from the bodies of Deaf children, they were founded in 1982 and their annual
revenue is $500-999 million.

Description: Ruthie is
dressed in a black long sleeve shirt that says “STOP AUDISM”on
the sleeves and a black hat standing next to Heather, who is also wearing a
long sleeve shirt that says “STOP AUDISM”on
the sleeves. Heather is holding 2 rolled
up banners and some papers.

Ruthie signing:
Tonight we are standing against audism and challenging the
Cochlear Implant industry to stop robbing Deaf children of ASL, Deaf Culture
and identity. We want Advanced Bionics,
Cochlear America and Med-El to acknowledge the cognitive damage cochlear
implants cause, expose the facts regarding the deaths of Deaf children from
cochlear implant surgeries, and stop taking advantage of Deaf children and
their parents.
Description: Heather and Ruthie walk to the front door of
Cochlear America where they use blue painters tape on the windows, lean AFA
cards on the front door, and lay out the AFA STOP AUDISM banner. There are 12 candles surrounding the AFA logo
and Heather is sitting on the ground near them.
Ruthie is standing in the foreground signing and then moves and sits on
the ground next to the banner and 12 candles.
Ruthie signing: Tonight we hold a vigil to honor the12 Deaf
children who died from CI surgery that the Cochlear Implant industry refuses to
recognize.

Earlier, I mentioned research that has recently come to light that showed in the 1980’s CI surgery caused the deaths of 12
Deaf children and a panel of experts called for the end of cochlear implant
surgeries in children. Sadly, the CI industry
ignored the panel’s recommendations and continue making
billions of dollars off Deaf children and their families while disregarding the
health of the whole child. Now, we honor
those 12 Deaf children who were taken from us along with honoring all CI
survivors.

Description:Ruthie kneels
down to light the 12 candles that are in a circle around the AFA logo.
Ruthie signing: These 12 candles represent the 12 Deaf children
taken from us, as we light these candles I imagine the experience of their
parents as the doctors and audiologist came into their hospital rooms and said,
“I’m so sorry your child is deaf, but we
will send the audiologist in to explain a surgery that will cure them”…just
like that, the child’s light was extinguished before they
had a chance to shine.Tonight, we
reignite their flames, so they may shine once again and know they are valued,
honored and remembered. We also light these flames in honor of our future Deaf
children, those who will carry our legacy, language, culture.WE stand for them and for all.LET FREEDOM ROLL!Feel your spirits rumble and stand up, stop
audism, tell the cochlear implants companies NO MORE!When we free our minds, colonialism has no
power and we can inspire Deaf children to be healthy, happy and whole.
Heather signing: Bless the 12 Deaf children and carry them with
us.
Description:Ruthie and
Heather standing while Heather is holding a lit candle.
Ruthie signing:Seeing the
lit candle is inspiring and makes me laugh at the propaganda cochlear implant
companies spread.Cochlear America’s
slogan is “Hear now. And always”, they try to convince people that the
only value Deaf people have is their ears and mouth.Little do they know, ASL is CHAMP…Here
now. And Always!

We actively opposed AB 2072 – a bill in
California that later was vetoed by the Governor.

We provided a list of resources on
audism and linguicism.

We shared our concerns with the
community and wrote a letter to the Judge about a Deaf father being
court-ordered to force his Deaf daughter to wear her cochlear implants all her
waking hours even if they were causing her discomfort or she wanted to have
them off or a while.

We revisited our 3 demands to AG Bell
Association – which are still valid and need to be addressed by AGBAD.

We informed the community about fines
and lawsuits against Cochlear Americas and Advanced Bionics.

We sent a letter to NTID President
Search Committee identifying the qualities desired for the next president of
NTID.

We expressed our grave concerns about
the unjust killing of Native-American Deaf woodcarver, John T. Williams by a
Seattle police officer.

We were involved in advocating for the
ICED to rescind the ICED Milan 1880 resolutions and we received a response from
the ICED 2010.

Friday, April 4, 2014

As
you may be awareFelix Garcia, an
innocent Deaf man who has spent the past 32 years in prison, is up for clemency
hearing in September.There is a
Facebook page and petition that goes to the Florida Governor (the state where
Felix is being held).If Florida Governor agrees to grant clemency to Felix, he will finally be free. YOUR support
is NEEDED NOW by signing the petition, joining the Facebook page, and using #FREEFELIX.

It has come to our
attention that the education of Deaf children in Iowa is endangered and as a
national grassroots network of Deaf activists, dedicated to combating audism*,
we feel compelled to respond.It
is clear to us that the recent actions of the Board of Regents translates into
a systematic effort to ensure that the education of Deaf children in your state
is moving toward the closure of Iowa School for the Deaf and resulting forced
assimilation of Deaf students in your state.

Is it intentional that
you have not included on your search committee for Superintendent significant
Deaf representatives nor representatives from vital stakeholders such as ISD alumni
and Deaf Community members?

Is it intentional
that you have not sought a QUALIFIED individual for the Superintendent position
who has an advanced degree in the areas related to the education of Deaf
individuals?

Is it intentional
that it is not a priority that the Superintendent of a Deaf school can
communicate directly with the stakeholders and students she/he is expected to
serve and protect?

Is it intentional
that you are not actively working with the Deaf Coalition of Iowa to build a
stronger relationship between the Deaf community and the Iowa School for the
Deaf?

Unfortunately, these
efforts will leave the future generation of Iowa Deaf students academically at
risk.Not only is this unjust, there
are international documents which your actions violate in principle:

The
International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) in 2010 noted that,
many Deaf citizens are being prevented from “equal access to decision making,
employment opportunities and quality education” and therefore urged all nations
to “facilitate, enhance and embrace their Deaf citizens’ participation in all governmental
decision making processes affecting all aspects of their lives.”

From the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:

Deaf children have the human right to accessible
learning which “facilitate(s) their full and equal participation in education
and as members of the community.”

At this point in time what is needed is a visionary Superintendent
who is dedicated to improving the education of Deaf children in Iowa by putting
into practice an innovative challenging educational program at Iowa School for
the Deaf that will prepare Deaf students as global citizens.Relying heavily on
a search committee that has minimal knowledge of Deaf culture, ASL, and
community accountability within the Deaf-World does not bode well in leading to
an Audism-free new Superintendent.

The
passion of the members of the Deaf
Coalition of Iowa shows a great investment in the importance of the future of the Iowa
School for the Deaf and the education of all Deaf children in Iowa. This
investment the Board and future Superintendent cannot afford to loose.

Let Freedom Roll,

Karen Christie, Patti Durr and Ruthie Jordan

For AFA

*Audism is attitudes and practices based on the assumption
that behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is desired and best. It
produces a system of privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination,
and prejudice—in overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign
Language, and Deaf people of all walks of life.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Rochester School for the Deaf
1545 St. Paul Street
Rochester, NY 14621

To the Board Members of the Rochester School for the Deaf,

A great responsibility is upon you in the choice of the next
Superintendent of the Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD).At a time when Deaf schools face
constant threats of closing and cuts, a strong visionary leader is certainly
needed. This adds further
importance to specifying the qualities of such a leader and the process by
which this individual is chosen.

Audism Free America (AFA) is dedicated to combating discrimination against Deaf
people. Relying heavily on an outside agency that has no knowledge
of Deaf culture, ASL, and community accountability within the Deaf-World
does not bode well in leading to an audism-free new superintendent.

AFA joins with the Rochester School for the Deaf alumni
Association and the Advocacy Committee for Fair Search Process as well as other
community organizations to support the call for more inclusive representation
on the Search Committee.Members
of the community have clearly stated that the Committee should include:an RSDAA representative, an RSD faculty
Representative, an RSD staff representative and one RSD parent.Including such key stakeholders on the
Search Committee is appropriate and will build greater trust in the search
process.

In addition, faculty, staff, families and volunteers (many
of who are alumni) are identified as“vital resources.”

AFA calls upon the Rochester School for the Deaf Board to
take actions, which will utilize and honor all of these vital resources, which
are needed to carry out RSD’s educational vision.We call upon you to unify the school, the community
and the stakeholders by including the above representatives on the search
committee.We do believe that the
Board can creatively combine the hiring of an external firm with having an
inclusive Search Committee.

The passion of the members of the RSD alumni, the Rochester
Deaf Community and its allies shows a great investment in the importance of the
future of RSD.This investment the Board and future
superintendent of RSD cannot afford to loose.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Audism Free America (AFA) celebrates 5 years.AFA is a grassroots Deaf
activist network in the US, which advocates for Deaf American rights, cultural
resurgence, and seeks primarily to challenge the ideological foundations of
audism in America.

Principle #3. Guide and coach parents¹ to help their child
use hearing as the primary sensory modality in developing spoken language without the use of sign language or emphasis on lipreading.

Bad News 1:

many practioners of AVT / LSL still urge parents not to sign
with their Deaf children and AG Bell has not clearly stated that it accepts the
use of ASL and English as important parts of a Deaf child’s cognitive, social,
and emotional development.

AFA Demand 2:

2. the AG Bell Association cease and desist from
misinforming the public and the media about ASL Deaf people. The AG Bell
Association has not retracted its letter to Pepsi objecting to the commercial
featuring ASL in a positive light and continually paints ASL Deaf people as
unsuccessful and dependent.

Good news 2:

To our knowledge, since 2009 AG Bell Association has not
sent out anything to the public or media misrepresenting ASL.

Bad news 2:

AG Bell still has not retracted and apologized for its
highly offensive and unjust letter to Pepsi yet.Times a wasting:AG Bell – do the right
thing and make amends.

AFA Demand 3:

the AG Bell Association cease and desist its incestuous
relationship with cochlear implant manufacturers and join AFA in calling for an
independent and impartial study of the physical, psychological, and social
impact of cochlear implants on infants, children and adolescents.

Good news 3:

AG Bell removed Advanced Bionics and Cochlear Americas from
their Circle Alliance Founding Partners.Advanced Bionics and Cochlear Americas are cochlear implant corporations
that have had numerous lawsuits, fines, and recalls.It has also removed any ad banners from its website for
Advanced Bionics or House Ear Institute.

Bad news 3:

AG Bell continues to have Advanced Bionics and Cochlear Americas
sponsor their conferences and continues to promote their products for
them.AG Bell’s Volta Review
continues to propagate “studies” that are financed by cochlear implant
corporations with small Ns (numbers of participants) and selective information.

At the 2009 historic meeting to discuss our demands with AG
Bell Association CEO and other representatives, we had a sit-in at the end of
the meeting to gain assurance we would get a response.

During this weekend in April 2009, we also had a Blue Ribbon
Ceremony at Gallaudet University and a rally and demonstration at the Volta
Bureau:The AG Bell Association Headquarters.

Thank you to all the volunteers,
participants, support from afar and more who all made this possible.

AFA Blue Ribbon Ceremony at Gallaudet University 2009

AFA Rally in front of AG Bell Volta Bureau 2009

AFA’s Blue light Vigil at AG Bell’s Volta Bureau 2009

In addition to our April 2009 direct action work, there were other notable AFA activities
in 2009:

AFA videotaped
testimonies of Deaf people and Hearing parents’ experiences with audism and
lobbied for a clear understanding of the term “audism” and the harms that
discrimination against Deaf people causes to our world.

Good news: Audism – the term became better
understood and utilized

Thank you to everyone in the
community who has labored hard and long to get the term audism into the
dictionary and recognized and understood.

Bad news:Audism continues to be a pervasive experience of Deaf
people.

****************************************

AFA Advocated for the
International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) to rescind the ICED
1880 Milan Congress resolutions, which ushered in the dark ages of Oralism
(oral / aural only – ban on natural sign language in schools and homes across
the globe).

Good news:ICED
2010 Vancouver formally recognized the harms of the Milan 1880 Oral only
mandate, expressing remorse and issuing a New Era Accord for the Future.

Thank you to the British Columbia
Deaf community and the members of ICED as well as all the other advocates who
have worked throughout time to get the ICED Milan 1880 overturned.

Bad news:Much
of the New Era Accord, especially related to Deaf representation and education
in all Nations remains to be put into practice.

****************************************

AFA advocated that if
Wisconsin Bill 27/16 passed demanding that insurance companies automatically
cover cochlear implants ,then they should add to the bill that ASL development
and materials be automatically covered by insurance companies.We also demanded an apology from
Senator Cullen for his offensive remarks.

Mixed news:
the bill passed to require insurance companies to automatically require
coverage for digital hearing aids and cochlear implants but parents reported
problems with the system later.Senator Cullen did apologize for his statement.

Thanks to all who wrote
letters and engaged in efforts to challenge the system.

Good news:
during a time when it was taboo to discuss cochlear implants within our community
as their was a campaign to sanitize, whitewash, and minimize any problems or
concerns with cochlear implants, AFA began to investigate the numerous recalls
and fines cochlear implant corporations have had and seen a clear pattern to
deceive the public.Since
taken a stand to seek the truth and facts about the impact of cochlear implants
on the whole child, the Deaf community has moved out from under the false claim
that cochlear implants are just fancy hearing aids and that cochlear implants
are no longer controversial. They are.WE ARE still demanding answers.

Bad news:In addition to needing to
continue to push this investigation, the naïve public is continually exposed
only to those “miraculous moments” when implants are first activated.

****************************************

AFA
participated in rallies against the selection of an unqualified Hearing
director for Deaf Adult Services (DAS) in Buffalo, NY.

Good News:
Later the director stepped down and a Deaf director was hired.

Thanks to all those brave
Buffalo folks who stood tall with their demands.

Bad news:Unqualified Hearing individuals
continue to apply for and be hired in positions where suitable Deaf candidates
are turned away.

****************************************

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

·AFA promoted and participated in
International Day of Sign Language rally and march.

·AFA boycotts Deafread and DVTV due to
their refusal to recognize Deaf people as a cultural and linguistic group in
their guidelines.

·Announces the launch of the Deaf
Studies Digital Journal http://dsdj.gallaudet.edu/
which includes scholarly papers in ASL in addition to
videos, visual art, and commentaries about the Deaf experience.

LINKS

About Me

Questions/Comments-
Email to AudismFreeAmerica@gmail.com
Audism Free America (AFA) is a grassroots Deaf activist organization in the US, which advocates for Deaf American rights, cultural resurgence, and seeks primarily to challenge the ideological foundations of audism in America.
Audism is attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is desired and best. It produces a system of privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice—in overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf people of all walks of life.
AFA is committed to:
1. human and linguistic rights of Deaf people
2. unmasking audism and media misrepresentation
3. advocating for future generations